How to Burn Fat for Free

Questionable diet and supplement ads purporting to increase your metabolism and burn fat with little effort gloss over the hard truth that the only way to burn fat is by burning off more calories than you take in. This can be accomplished by eating fewer calories and/or increasing the number of calories you burn through some form of exercise. Expensive gym memberships and pricey home fitness equipment aren't necessary to make this happen. All you'll need are a good pair of sneakers.

Things You'll Need

• Athletic sneakers

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Instructions

• 1

  Determine the amount of fat you wish to burn off, based on the appropriate weight and BMI (Body Mass Index) rating for a person of your height and weight, and decrease your daily caloric intake accordingly. Use a printed chart or online chart to enter your height, weight and age to see where you stand in terms of healthy / unhealthy weight levels and BMI ratings.

• 2

  Engage in at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise daily by speed walking or running. Low intensity aerobic activity such as walking will burn calories, but not to the extent that higher intensity running will. Regardless of which you choose, you will need nothing more than a supportive, comfortable pair of sneakers. Choose aerobic exercises with a level of intensity that matches the amount of fat you're trying to burn.

• 3

  Engage in strength training at least three days a week by doing exercises using your own body weight (e.g. pushups, pullups, tricep dips) and household objects (e.g. holding a full can of paint by the handle and doing bicep curls). Lean muscle tissue burns more calories during exercise and during rest than fat tissue does. Although aerobic exercise is linked to boosting metabolism, weight lifting also has a positive effect in this regard.

• 4

  Increase the level of activity in your day-to-day lifestyle to burn extra calories throughout the day. These activities can include taking stairs instead of the elevator, walking or bicycling instead of driving or engaging in regular and vigorous yardwork, housecleaning or gardening.